tam with Keith and Kass
Member Since 2015
Hi,
My name is Tammy and my son, Noah, and I are the owner of Keith, a 4-year-old cat, who was diagnosed with diabetes at the end of May of this year. Although it has only been 1-1/2 months, it has been like the longest roller coaster ride of our lives. I have had cats for most of my life, done cat rescue and have dealt with many issues from asthma, tumors, Addison's disease, given fluids for kidney disease, etc. I am not a novice when it comes to knowledge about cats and, since Keith's diagnosis, I have tried to read everything possible to find out the latest information about cats with diabetes. Dealing with my vet, who I have had for 13 years, has not been a positive experience. If not for DCIN coming and helping me, Keith would not be alive right now. I knew Keith was "not right", as he was losing weight and his urine had an extremely strong smell which reminded me of when my son was 9 and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. My son and I have dealt with that for 13 years now and he is 22, takes 10-12 shots a day, is on 26 meds and has high functioning autism. My mother had type 2 and had both legs amputated and died at 62 from complications. Diabetes has been a ghost that has haunted me my entire life and a disease that has taken so much away. For us, there was life BD (before diabetes) and life AD (after diabetes). I've been a single parent and our pets are everything to us because we watched most of our family die through home hospice, stroke, and my mom from diabetes. Never in my life did I expect to have a diabetic cat. We have four cats. Keith (diabetic cat) and his brother Kurt are 4 and were rescues, Lyric is 3 and was also a rescue and Faith is 7 (she has three legs because she was born with severe birth defects and had to have one amputated). We don't have a lot and are an unusual family, but a family all the same.
My vet is/was a home vet and we have always agreed on everything and had a close relationship. I met her when I was doing cat rescue, as she was the vet the rescue used. We became close and even after I had to stop doing rescue because we lost our house, she remained our vet. She has been incredibly kind at times by giving discounts, helpful advice and teaching me things that I could do at home instead of having to be charged by a vet. Keith was tested on a Thursday the last week in May when my vet came and did a complete blood panel, including thyroid check, electrolytes and leukemia/FIV. She called the next morning and said the only thing abnormal with Keith was his blood sugar was 495 and he was a type 1 diabetic. I was shocked. She told me to take the weekend to think about it and she recommended it would be in my best interest and cost range to just enjoy him and explained he would lose more weight, eventually develop neuropathy and walk funny, become kind of "out of it" and probably slip into a coma and then she would come over to put him to sleep. She said he would not suffer. When I told my son this, he started crying and said that when he was diagnosed with diabetes at 9, I didn't just leave him or "put him to sleep" and Keith was a member of our family and we stick together. I started searching on-line and found DCIN, started reading articles off the boards and watched a video on how to test a cat's BG on the ear. I did that with Noah's ( my son) meter and Keith was 495. I called the vet and told her and she was annoyed that I tested him and told me I was supposed to "think about it" and not call until Monday. I said I wanted to treat him. She told me I would not be able to afford it and it would be too stressful, as with my son and his diabetes and other medical problems/autism, it was "too much for me." I was really hurt by this. I told her I could get the insulin and I didn't need prescription food for $40 a bag because I would switch Keith to Fancy Feast classic and DCIN had given me sheets with carb levels. She said she wasn't really comfortable with that but if I wanted to do it, she would have me wait two weeks and not check him during that time and made an appointment on June 12 to come and start insulin. If I did check him, I was to ignore whatever the numbers were no matter how high they were. I did not agree with that. That is when Jenna and Wendy from DCIN helped. Wendy came over that weekend and brought syringes, information and even a sock to heat up for Keith's ear. I was sent a meter just for Keith, a OneTouch Ultra, and Arkray, and we started him on insulin. The relationship with the vet deteriorated because she does not believe in home testing and only believes in using prescription food and doing curves in the clinic. I've had a lot of help and questions answered and overall Keith had been doing well but his numbers have never really regulated. Thursday, I called Jenna from DCIN because Keith was 531, vomited seven times, was dehydrated and I didn't know what to do or where to go. I went to an animal hospital with my notebook of numbers. Jenna approved the visit and is doing a fundraiser to help him. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable and intelligent and read and research extensively, but I have never been so frustrated by anything in my life and if it weren't for the help I've been given from DCIN and talking to others, I have no doubt Keith would be dead. I need advice because I can't bear to lose him. We love him so much and want to get him regulated because he is so gentle and my son is so bonded with him and we want to eventually work together and have Keith be a diabetic therapy cat to give back. I just am having a hard time getting a vet to listen. I know this was long and I will be posting in the health section. Thank you.
Keith has been up and down and we ended up at an animal hospital Thursday
My name is Tammy and my son, Noah, and I are the owner of Keith, a 4-year-old cat, who was diagnosed with diabetes at the end of May of this year. Although it has only been 1-1/2 months, it has been like the longest roller coaster ride of our lives. I have had cats for most of my life, done cat rescue and have dealt with many issues from asthma, tumors, Addison's disease, given fluids for kidney disease, etc. I am not a novice when it comes to knowledge about cats and, since Keith's diagnosis, I have tried to read everything possible to find out the latest information about cats with diabetes. Dealing with my vet, who I have had for 13 years, has not been a positive experience. If not for DCIN coming and helping me, Keith would not be alive right now. I knew Keith was "not right", as he was losing weight and his urine had an extremely strong smell which reminded me of when my son was 9 and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. My son and I have dealt with that for 13 years now and he is 22, takes 10-12 shots a day, is on 26 meds and has high functioning autism. My mother had type 2 and had both legs amputated and died at 62 from complications. Diabetes has been a ghost that has haunted me my entire life and a disease that has taken so much away. For us, there was life BD (before diabetes) and life AD (after diabetes). I've been a single parent and our pets are everything to us because we watched most of our family die through home hospice, stroke, and my mom from diabetes. Never in my life did I expect to have a diabetic cat. We have four cats. Keith (diabetic cat) and his brother Kurt are 4 and were rescues, Lyric is 3 and was also a rescue and Faith is 7 (she has three legs because she was born with severe birth defects and had to have one amputated). We don't have a lot and are an unusual family, but a family all the same.
My vet is/was a home vet and we have always agreed on everything and had a close relationship. I met her when I was doing cat rescue, as she was the vet the rescue used. We became close and even after I had to stop doing rescue because we lost our house, she remained our vet. She has been incredibly kind at times by giving discounts, helpful advice and teaching me things that I could do at home instead of having to be charged by a vet. Keith was tested on a Thursday the last week in May when my vet came and did a complete blood panel, including thyroid check, electrolytes and leukemia/FIV. She called the next morning and said the only thing abnormal with Keith was his blood sugar was 495 and he was a type 1 diabetic. I was shocked. She told me to take the weekend to think about it and she recommended it would be in my best interest and cost range to just enjoy him and explained he would lose more weight, eventually develop neuropathy and walk funny, become kind of "out of it" and probably slip into a coma and then she would come over to put him to sleep. She said he would not suffer. When I told my son this, he started crying and said that when he was diagnosed with diabetes at 9, I didn't just leave him or "put him to sleep" and Keith was a member of our family and we stick together. I started searching on-line and found DCIN, started reading articles off the boards and watched a video on how to test a cat's BG on the ear. I did that with Noah's ( my son) meter and Keith was 495. I called the vet and told her and she was annoyed that I tested him and told me I was supposed to "think about it" and not call until Monday. I said I wanted to treat him. She told me I would not be able to afford it and it would be too stressful, as with my son and his diabetes and other medical problems/autism, it was "too much for me." I was really hurt by this. I told her I could get the insulin and I didn't need prescription food for $40 a bag because I would switch Keith to Fancy Feast classic and DCIN had given me sheets with carb levels. She said she wasn't really comfortable with that but if I wanted to do it, she would have me wait two weeks and not check him during that time and made an appointment on June 12 to come and start insulin. If I did check him, I was to ignore whatever the numbers were no matter how high they were. I did not agree with that. That is when Jenna and Wendy from DCIN helped. Wendy came over that weekend and brought syringes, information and even a sock to heat up for Keith's ear. I was sent a meter just for Keith, a OneTouch Ultra, and Arkray, and we started him on insulin. The relationship with the vet deteriorated because she does not believe in home testing and only believes in using prescription food and doing curves in the clinic. I've had a lot of help and questions answered and overall Keith had been doing well but his numbers have never really regulated. Thursday, I called Jenna from DCIN because Keith was 531, vomited seven times, was dehydrated and I didn't know what to do or where to go. I went to an animal hospital with my notebook of numbers. Jenna approved the visit and is doing a fundraiser to help him. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable and intelligent and read and research extensively, but I have never been so frustrated by anything in my life and if it weren't for the help I've been given from DCIN and talking to others, I have no doubt Keith would be dead. I need advice because I can't bear to lose him. We love him so much and want to get him regulated because he is so gentle and my son is so bonded with him and we want to eventually work together and have Keith be a diabetic therapy cat to give back. I just am having a hard time getting a vet to listen. I know this was long and I will be posting in the health section. Thank you.
Keith has been up and down and we ended up at an animal hospital Thursday
